Sumatra Kerinci Gunung Tujuh
This offering from the ALKO Coop exemplifies the classic wet-hulled Sumatran profile. It's got muted acidity and a huge, syrupy body along with a lingering, earthy finish. As you'd expect, the flavor profile is complex and spicy with notes of licorice, anise and molasses accompanied by a bit of mango.
For many folks, Sumatran coffee was their first taste of coffee that wasn't from Africa or the Americas. The huge, bold cup changed the way many of us looked at coffee forever because it made us realize that not all coffee tastes basically the same! Processing, regional soil and coffee cultivar all play a role in shaping that experience and wet-hulled Sumatran coffee has a profile unlike any other. This offering from the ALKO Coop exemplifies the potential of that profile and presents that classic cup in all its glory. Bold, syrupy, spicy and earthy, it's particularly prized by folks who like dark roasting since the flavors meld so well with the "roasty" characteristics found in coffees pushed into 2nd crack. Look for notes of licorice, anise, molasses and even a bit of juicy mango.
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: May 13th, 2022
Acidity & Brightness: Muted acidity and moderate sweetness
Balance & Finish: Complex with a lingering, earthy finish
Body & Texture: Big, rich body and syrupy texture
Flavors: Licorice, anise, molasses and mango
Grade: Very hard and dense, grown at 1300-1650 masl
Processing: Wet-hulled (giling basah) and patio dried in the sun
Grower: 516 producers organized around Cooperative Kopi Alam Kerinci (ALKO)
Region: Kerinci Regency, Jambi Province, Sumatra
Varieties: Bourbon, Catimor, Gayo, S Lini 795
Recommended Roast Range: Full City to Vienna (medium to dark)
This coffee is tailor made for folks who enjoy dark roasting and a big, bold cup so we like it best around Full City+ (medium-dark), though it will even perform well into Vienna (dark). At Full Medium the molasses will taste more like brown sugar and you'll get a bit more fruit.
Royal Coffee - "This particular lot comes from a longstanding relationship with a cooperative called Kopi Alam Kerinci (ALKO), which now has 516 members who cultivate on small family owned plots of land located around Mount Kerinci, the highest volcano in Indonesia. The cooperative works closely with producers to decrease forest encroachment. Their farm management practices create a protective buffer for the Kerinci Seblat national park, which encircles the entire Kerinci valley with unparalleled natural beauty and habitat for the Sumatran Tiger. The cooperative also has a program that exchanges roasted coffee for trash collected by hikers who visit the Kerinci Seblat national park. During the harvest, producers deliver their cherries to the cooperative’s central mill where they are carefully sorted before depulping and overnight fermenting. Then the coffee is washed and laid out on patios to shed the excess water from the parchment covered beans. Next the coffee takes a detour from the conventional path of processing in other origins, wherein, the coffee parchment is removed while the coffee still has a high moisture content. This wet-hulling process, called Giling Basah in the Indonesian language, leaves the coffee bean exposed while drying on patios to a moisture percentage acceptable for export. This Indonesian processing method gives the bean its unique bluish color and the hallmark Indonesian profile."
